


Comfort

by in_motu_proprio



Series: MCU Rewatch 2019 [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-23 07:16:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18148793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/in_motu_proprio/pseuds/in_motu_proprio
Summary: I figured Rhodey and Pepper had to have a few of these moments while Tony was kidnapped in Iron Man.For Iron Man.





	Comfort

Tony may not have been there and he might not even be coming back, but Pepper was there to make sure that if, no _when_ he came back that everything was how he liked it. That included changing his wardrobe. She couldn’t believe that he’d been gone long enough to go from winter to spring and was trying very hard not to get emotional over one of Tony’s favorite Tom Ford jackets. She’d been overly focused on the task at hand so Pepper jumped a mile when a hand closed on her shoulder and broke her ought of her melancholy thoughts about Tony. “Jesus CHRIST!” Pepper spun fast, ready to fight but found Rhodey standing there with half a smile on his lips. “You scared the life out of me, my God,” Pepper’s hand rested on her chest, trying to tell her heart to go back to its normal pace. 

“Sorry… sorry,” Rhodey leaned back and reached into the bar area of Tony’s bedroom, coming back with a bottle and a glass. “Peace offering?” If Rhodey was offering her booze this early in their encounter things had to be bad. Maybe he’d gotten news on…. “No news on Tony yet,” he said as he poured, handing her one glass then reaching back to get one for himself. He was in civvies so no worries about drinking on duty she supposed. Pepper hung up the jacket she’d been pining over, the smell of Tony’s cologne still there despite having had it dry cleaned. Tony’s cologne got into everything, much like the man himself. “You got a minute? I actually came to talk to you.” 

“Yes, yes, of course.” Pepper stepped over to the long couch near the window, sitting down with Rhodey like she had a hundred times before. When you spent your days and nights putting up with Tony Stark’s nonsense, sometimes you bonded with others in similar positions. She and Rhodey, for example, had bonded over Tony’s insomnia because when Tony got insomnia it tended to screw with the people around him. If he was unable to maintain a schedule of some sort he became even more erratic. “How long have you been back?”  
Rhodey sipped his vodka and answered, “couple hours.” 

“Oh Jim, you should be getting some rest.” 

“I tried, got in my car at the base and started to head home, wound up back here.” It was midday but that hardly mattered when you’d been halfway around the world a few hours earlier. “I was glad you were here because…” he choked up a little, having to close his eyes and take a deep breath before he continued. “Because I wanted to check on you.” 

Pepper gave him a gentile smile and reached out to take his hand, squeezing it softly in hers. “You wanted to check in on me,” Pepper repeated softly as she turned his hand over in hers, lacing their fingers together. “You look like you’ve run every marathon up and down the east coast… twice… in the last few days.” He shifted closer, holding eye contact before he slowly laid down, his head resting on Pepper’s thigh. “Tony’s closet can wait a few hours,” Pepper said as she reached out to pick up a tablet. She darkened the room a bit and pulled the blanket down off the back to lay over the man. “Kick off your shoes,” Pepper suggested and Rhodey followed her direction probably more out of instinct than real desire to take his shoes off. “Ok… now we’re going to start with breathing.” 

Slowly, with a great deal of care, Pepper took Rhodey through a rest routine of breathing and progressive relaxation of his muscles until the man was a ball of jelly lying next to her. She kept one hand on him, running over his arm under the blanket or over his forehead when he’d fret or jump. This was not the first time she’d helped a man to sleep and Pepper was actually kind of touched that he sought her out. She felt him start to drift off and kept up what she was doing, the weight of his heat increasing against her thigh as he slowly drifted to sleep. Though she was there with a sleeping man, Pepper felt so much less alone for having Rhodey there at her side.


End file.
